Monday, June 11, 2012

18 hours in las vegas.

this photo pretty much sums it all up...
our spontaneous, should-have-been-epic 18 hours in las vegas didn't go exactly as planned (post here). 
it went something like this...

6:20 p.m. // Land in vegas, take a cab to the strip, race to cover ourselves in glitter.  
8 p.m. // Cab it to another hotel. miss the party bus. beg our cab driver to take us to the festival for $80.
10 p.m. // Finally arrive at EDC after a 2-hour cab ride. meet up with Colby. yay! we're all together.
11 p.m. // After another hour in the security line we're IN. three hours after leaving the hotel. 
11:15 p.m. // Grab a beer, feel out the lay of the land see a tiny bit of Bassnectar's set. 
Midnight // Finally getting into the groove of the night, watching Calvin Harris' set, head to Rusko - not on. 
12:45 a.m. // EDC "temporarily" shuts down the festival for safety reasons due to strong winds. 
1 a.m. // about a 100,000 people are moved to the grass & grandstands to see how the night will play out.
2:30 a.m. // We realize it's officially over and decide to leave to try and salvage the night. 
2:45 a.m. // Beg every limo, party bus & shuttle driver to take us back to the strip. Find a bus, pile in.
4:30 a.m. // Another 2 hours later, we arrive back on the strip; walk back to our hotel. 
5 a.m. // Grab a beer and dance at the hotel "club" with all the other EDCers.
6:30 a.m. // Cab it to the airport in all our EDC apparel and no luggage to get an early flight home. 
10:45 a.m. // Arrive home, shower, de-glitter and pass out.  

end of story. 

so, yeah. we basically danced for 45-minutes before it closed down. lots of time, money & effort lost. oh well, i guess. you win some, you lose some - it was las vegas after all. at least we made the best of it and we were in it together and it was really fun while it lasted - we were just expecting another 10+ hours of good times and actually seeing some of the best DJs ever. i was genuinely shocked by how enormous EDC is. the set-up is massive and it really is filled with tons of awesome art, stages and rides. it was a for-real grown-up candyland. 

oh, and some of you may recall that this isn't the first time that colby & i have been at an electronica festival event that had us escorted to the grandstands before a complete shutdown. yup, in august 2009, me & colby, jake & danny, alex & jared all went to HARD Fest LA and it ended before it even began (here) due to rowdy crowds and an un-fit arena setting (where the night took us ended up being totally awesome). so at EDC when colbs and i heard the "please move to the grandstands," we looked at each other like, "you've got to be kidding me right now. this cannot be happening again." we agreed that we're not destined for electronica music festivals.

on a happy note, our gold outfits were a major hit and there's a good chance we'll be in next year's EDC promo video - which is hilarious and ironic considering we were "faking" the fun & dancing during the shut-down. 

the few snapshots i did take... 
{getting glued & glittered in line}

{the golden girls are finally all together and ready to head into the fest}

{you enter the festival at the top of the speedway and see this view and run down the stairs}

{glittery legs & kicks}

{the main stage is set-up like an arena with lights encircling you and the crowd}

{victoria & rachel gettin' their groove on}

{colby & carlyn feelin' the beat}



{there's a full blown carnival inside... tons of rides. but sadly, all shut down due to wind}

{in one of the cool down zones. some typical EDC garb}


{i was surprised by how much art there was. very cool stuff.}

{as the crowds were getting herded into the grandstand & grass area}

{camping out by the sticks waiting for the verdict...}


{with the awesome EDC film crew}

{taking the party to Planet Hollywood. trying to salvage the night with a dance party}

{the last three golden hearts standing}

some official EDC photos here in various slideshows.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

the year of the yes.

i feel like i'm usually up for most things, but this year both danny and i have been lived to the mantra: "the year of the yes" -  just. say. yes. even when you don't want to and especially when you'd typically say no. by channeling this, we've both already done a few things out of our comfort zone, had some unexpected fun and we're totally digging it.

with that being said, a couple weeks ago my girlfriend Carlyn called to see if i'd be up for a totally spontaneous trip to las vegas to do one night of Electric Daisy Carnival (a three-night, all-electronica music festival that draws 300,000 people)... my answer, yes! why not?! and my next phone call... to Colby, who decided to jump in with me. yay! in just the past week we managed to scalp single-night tickets to the sold-out fest, decided on a group "golden" theme and purchased some gold lamé,  crafted glittery gold DIY projects and we're off.. tonight!

this evening, us girls are flying to meet each other in vegas and immediately hoping on a party bus to the festival which goes from 7 p.m. - 7 a.m., and then we're flying home sunday morning. no hotel. no luggage. just a whole lot of gold body paint & glitter. it's gonna be totally nuts and awesome. yup, this is where us girls will be tonight.

Friday, June 8, 2012

crusin' south on pch.

on monday, we woke up to a gloomy day in oxnard so we decided to hop in the car and head south on the PCH (pacific coast highway) to show vicky and joe around santa monica and venice. it was the perfect day trip. we started in santa monica, trolling the lovely neighborhood streets off montana avenue before parking and taking a walk down third street promenade, then walking down ocean avenue and straight to the santa monica pier. venice was our next stop - abbot kinney, the canals and of course muscle beach.

we ended the day with cocktails and dinner at shutters on the beach in santa monica. such a perfect place. ahhh, CA.


{third street promenade in santa monica}


{first time walking down ocean blvd. in santa monica}


{me & my ting}

{heading towards the santa monica pier}


{pit-stop for a vanilla milkshake}


{venice beach}


{happy as a california clam in my homeland}

{watching a pick-up game in venice}

{who me? you lookin' at me?}



{the beautiful venice canals. so cool.}

{happy hour oysters for the boys at shutters. risotto & cheese tomato balls for the girls.}

{vicky's reaction to the oysters}

{a community table with a view}

{after a delicious dinner and cocktails we headed back north to the sandbox}

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

hello, california summer.

just as the arizona temperatures started to climb, we hopped a quick flight over to california for five glorious relaxing days on the beach with danny's family. in fact, danny and i are still here soaking up every last minute before the last flight home. 

friends our ours were gracious enough to let us stay at their gorgeous home that's situated right on the sand in oxnard, california - about an hour north of los angeles. it's the perfect cozy beach home with a view of the ocean all to ourselves. 

the first couple of days, we had a little bit of your typical "june gloom," but the rest of the time has been 70's and sunny albeit breezy. this didn't phase danny though, who took advantage of the windy weather to try his hand at flying a stunt kite. and since kite flying takes two people, i also got to spend time flying a kite.

we've all done lots of reading, kite flying, surfing (for d), eating/drinking, card game playing, relaxing and soaking up the california sun. plus, we squeezed in two day trips - one to ventura and another to santa monica & venice beach. more photos coming soon... i'm going back to the beach.


{danny's kite and our yellow beachfront home there on the left}

{our bed... ocean breeze & fantastic morning view}

{gloomy day. walking to the marina's local farmer's market for our fresh produce}

{the local marina}


{the most delicious strawberries}

{a bag full of fresh produce, fish & bread for the week}





{danny and joe flying the trick kite}





{my cabana man. towel delivery with cocktails & snacks}